Sunday, July 29, 2007

Last week I bought a used Hobie 16. Yesterday I was able to take it out for the first time. I always heard they were fun, but I had no idea just how fun it would be.

My friend kentos and I got one hull out of the water. The only shame was that we weren't ready for it so it started coming out too far. As the other hull started dipping below the water I had to quickly let out the main sheet to keep us from tipping. It was awesome.

I think I'll be sailing as much as possible until the end of the season. As long as I can find a friend to handle the jib I'll be in good shape.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

This morning I left the Democratic state convention at 10:12. I have decided to discontinue my official affiliation with the democratic party; something I already had to do a few years ago with the republican party.

There are many reasons for this. The first of which is that I believe that no group of politically driven people will accomplish anything if others in their group do not care enough about the rule of law to try to enforce it. It seems the only people concerned with impeachment are the citizens who are farthest from it.

Secondly, I believe that both parties are anti competitive in nature. In the state of Utah, for most elections, a candidate either has to have a long list of signatures or the nomination of one of the established parties in order to be listed on the ballot. It is my opinion that any person wishing to be considered by the public should be allowed to run. This would include multiple people from each party. At which point conventions would be where a candidate runs for the endorsement not nomination of a party. Conceivably, a candidate could receive the endorsement of two or more parties (yes, there could be more than two).

I love freedom, I wish to always be free. When I participate in any political organization it makes me feel sad. It's almost as if people are sacrificing their personal initiative for the will of the group. We all join groups and subgroups. Why? Is it because we don't want to be alone in what we believe? In what we value? Perhaps there's some benefit to being alone. If you are alone you may be better able to act independently of what others think of you.

I do not support government welfare, a big issue in the democratic party. By making that statement some would assume that I do not believe in christian charity. On the contrary I do not support it because of my belief in christian charity. Charity is only charity when an individual decides to give. It is because it was that individual's choice. The choice is taken away, and thus the charity destroyed, when a government taxes from one and gives to another against the will of the taxed. This also destroys the benefit of the relationships that can be formed when individuals help each other through acts of charity.

Our political process is highly broken. Candidates seem to win more by advertising budget than by what they plan on doing once they get into office.

There are many problems. So many that I'm not prepared to discuss a tenth of the ones I have ever noted. Suffice it to say that there is sufficient group-think in both of our parties that until there is a change in the minds and attitudes of the people in our country we will continue to get farther from the freedom we could enjoy. Our country does not suffer so much from oppression of government, though it is rising, as it does from blindness of mind.